Aaron Chalmers (Second Chances)
Name: Aaron Chalmers Gender: Male Age: 17 School: P.J. Hobbs Senior High School Hobbies and Interests: '''Football, Basketball, Working Out, Movies '''Appearance: Aaron has the large build you would expect of a fullback on a football team, standing at 5’10” tall and weighing in at 183lbs. He is broad shouldered with the muscles and solid frame of someone who keeps to a rigourous training regimen. He has black hair which he keeps cut fairly short, not quite to the level of a buzz cut, though it has been a few weeks since he last had his hair cut. Aaron has green eyes. He has a square face, ending in a rounded chin, with well proportioned features and high cheek bones. Aaron tends to be considered fairly handsome, in a typical way. When it comes to his choice of clothing, Aaron is most often seen in blue jeans and a solid coloured t-shirt, which on the day he was taken was black, and a pair of well used trainers. One item of clothing he is never without however is his letterman team jacket, given to members of the school's team, which he was also wearing the day he was taken. Biography: Aaron is the third and last son of a middle class suburban family who are about as American as they come. His father, Robert Chalmers, came from a family with money and grew up not wanting for much – something which he passed onto his sons – but at the same time was taught the value of hard work by his father and grandfather – Aaron’s grandfather and great grandfather – who had to work for everything they had and together built up the successful accountancy firm which Robert now runs. A proponent of tough love, Robert expects a lot from his three sons, especially Aaron after the success of his other two sons. He pushes them hard to reach their potential and accepts nothing less than success. Far too often Aaron and his brothers have had to listen to Robert's lectures about how their great grandfather started out as a lowly, freelance accountant fresh out of college, doing the tax returns for small businesses; gradually, through hard work, dilligence and careful building of a solid reputation, he expanded his client base and grew his business into the successful business that provides for their family today. Aaron’s mother, Helen Chalmers, was Robert’s high school sweetheart. The two married soon after graduating and Helen soon settled into life as a housewife while Robert worked. In terms of parenting she is almost the polar opposite of Robert, choosing instead to praise her children’s achievements and preferring not to push them too hard, creating a somewhat conflicting upbringing. As has been mentioned Aaron has two older siblings – David, the younger, and Andrew, the elder. David and Andrew are only a couple of years apart in terms of age which Aaron coming six years later, making him the youngest member of his family by a significant margin. Both of his brothers were high achievers in school in their own ways, David being on the honour roll and graduating second in his year while Andrew was the star player on the football team while he was at the school. There is a considerable amount of pressure on Aaron to live up to the family name as it were. Being the youngest means that he received a lot of attention from both his parents and his brothers, the former being mostly positive and the latter being not so much, especially when he was younger. Being so much younger than his brothers he was often excluded from whatever his siblings were doing; he was too young to play sports with them at that age and they did not want to spend time with a child much younger than them, which they saw as babysitting and a chore. What attention his brother did give him was usually in the form of pranks played on him, jokes at his expense or lies told to scare or mislead him. As was usually the case in their family, Aaron's parents had different attitudes and responses to the brotherly bullying he received. Their mother would show concern for this kind of behaviour and would try to scold David and Andrew or force them to include Aaron in whatever they were doing, which often had the opposite affect or causing some small, short-lived resentment towards their younger brother. Their father meanwhile, would dismiss any of the concerns his wife raised and would wave away the issue with a platitude along the lines of "boys will be boys" or "men need to works these things out between themselves". While this sibling hazing has died down as he has grown, and as his brothers began to see him as more of an equal and less of a child, he still feels the pain of being the youngest member of his family from time to time. Currently David – 23 years old – has begun working with his father at his company while Andrew – 25 years old – is currently serving in the military, having enlisted after dropping out of university in his second year. The decision by his oldest brother to drop out was the cause of some tension in the family for a while, making Andrew the family black sheep at least in his fathers eyes; tempers were finally soothed when David entered university and began studying to join the family business, allowing Robert to think about his eldest's decision without fear for his families legacy clouding his judgment. Aaron has always performed solidly as a student, receiving at least C’s and B’s in most of his subjects at most grades levels. That being said most of his teachers consider Aaron to be an intelligent person when he puts his mind to it and many of them feel that he could do better if he just applied himself a little more. However Aaron finds that he often has trouble concentrating on his studies when the pressure is on; if there is a large test or exam ahead and he allows his mind to linger too long on the expectations he family has of him his brain locks up and his concentration and performance suffer as a result. It does not help the situation that Aaron's academic shortcomings have been a common subject growing up. His father would often compare Aaron's progress to that of his older brother David come report card time, with Aaron usually comparing unfavourably and his brother always nearby to gloat and tease. His mothers scolding of the two and her insistence that Aaron's grades were fine helped to keep the pressure off of him somewhat, but did not help to lessen his own feeling of disappointment. Aaron struggles most in creative subjects, or those with lots of information to remember – English and History being particular grinds for him – as opposed to subjects that were more formulaic such as mathematics or science. The relatively simple and easy to remember formulas and equations of the latter two subjects were much easier for Aaron to handle when he was under pressure, compared to the long essay questions and numerous small details posed by the former. This only worsened once Aaron entered high school, which was when he felt the pressure from his father to succeed really start to set in. His middle brother David had achieved highly academically and his eldest brother Andrew was successful in sporting achievements and Aaron therefore felt the expectation to succeed in both of these areas at once, both from his father's words and his own self inflicted desire to out do his brothers. Nevertheless Aaron redoubled his efforts and managed to achieve and maintain a B average for the most part in his studies, even if occasionally when he was really pressed to it he would have to resort to roping in some extra help. One area where Aaron was at least more successful was in sports. When he was younger and his eldest brother was still around the house Aaron and his sibling would often play sports in the backyard, most often basketball since they had the equipment for it, but also soccer and of course football. While Aaron would often lose to his older and physically larger brothers he still picked up a love of sport from these sessions that he would take with him into high school. Even with Andrew currently away from home he and David still occasionally play games of basketball when they get the chance and now that he is older the matches are much more even between the two. Of course, when he entered high school and it came time to pick which team to tryout for, it wasn’t really much of a decision. His brother Andrew had been quarterback for the school's football team when he was a student at the school and Aaron was determined to be a part of that team as well. He tried out for the team during his first year at the school but on that occasion he didn’t make the cut, the coach stating that he didn’t have the required skills to play and that there wasn’t room on the team for a work in progress like him. Undeterred Aaron spent most of his free time for the rest of the year working towards improving and joining the team next year, hitting the gym to bulk up and practicing his skills by himself to improve. He applied again during his sophomore year and was accepted as a second-string wide receiver for the team. This did not last long however as two months after he joined the team one of the starting receivers was hit by a hard tackle during a game and received a concussion. Aaron filled in for him and proved himself good enough during the following matches that he was bumped up to the starting team even when his teammate was eligible to play again. Aaron works hard to maintain his position on the team and is usually the first one to show up for practice and the last one to leave afterwards, as well as spending a considerable amount of time in the gym alongside his other studies to keep in shape. It is not uncommon for Aaron to go straight to the gym after practice, not get home under after dark and then go straight to hitting the books until it is time to sleep. When Aaron does manage to get some free time to himself he tends to prefer more sedate activities, feeling the need to wind down after a long day, often simply watching movies or whatever is on the television at the time. In terms of genre he prefers mainly comedy or action based entertainment, generally watching movies that are light in tone and offer some mindless distraction for a few hours. As you might expect this regimen of practice, studying and workouts doesn’t leave much time for socialising. Aaron is on good terms with his teammates and would count most of them as his friends, but has little social contact outside of this small section of the school population and his own family. He has few friends outside of these groups and has never had a girlfriend; in fact, outside of a passing flirtation or occasional first date, Aaron has very little experience with the opposite sex. While Aaron considers most of his teammates friends, whether or not they feel the same way about him is debatable. While mostly he is friendly to those around him and a good team player he has a habit of hazing his teammates, especially those younger than him, in a manner reminiscent of the way his older sibling used to haze him when he was younger. To him this is regular and acceptable behaviour but to those he targets this can occasionally veer into bullying. Outside of his teammates Aaron has a similarly friendly, albeit less familiar and without the hazing, relationship with his fellow students. In classes he is quiet unless called upon by the teacher and rarely talks to his classmates unless he has a reason to, preferring to focus on his studies; when he does talk to his classmates it is in a polite and relaxed manner. In between classes and at lunch Aaron usually prefers to spend his time alone, rather than socialising. These are his few moments of downtime during a day and he would rather relax by himself than spend them with other people. In these moments, if he has time, he will usually find a quiet spot to himself and rest or, if it is close to a test or a game, study or train. Occasionally he will join a few students in a pick up game of basketball at lunchtime or join other students in the library to study, but for the most part he prefers solitude when he can get it. Aaron's current relationship with his family is the best it has ever been. Having shown himself to be somewhat promising academically as well as being a starting player for the schools football team, Aaron's father could not be happier with his youngest son. Another example that the Chalmer's genes never fail, as he would say. His mother, meanwhile, continues to be as supportive as ever. While he currently has the approval of both of his parents however, Aaron still feels the pressure to perform well and continue to meet their expectations; though his parents are not saying anything at the moment he is not going to slack off now, just because he has reached a good position. His relationship with his brothers has also improved tremendously since their childhood, now being old enough that his brothers consider him an equal and his brothers being old enough to have out grown childish bullying. Though they still like to remind him he is the youngest sibling every now and then. David visits often, due to living nearby and working with their father at his company. He had Aaron therefore spend a fair amount of time together, either eating meals, playing basketball in the backyard or David helping him with his studies. Andrew, still being enlisted in the military, is seen more rarely. He and Aaron keep up a correspondence through emails, however, and Andrew visits home whenever he gets the chance. Advantages: Aaron is a very hardworking and athletic individual and as such most of his advantages are physical in nature. The fact that Aaron works out a lot to keep in shape means that he is physically quite strong, stronger than a number of his other classmates certainly. Playing football gives him good stamina and since the wide receiver is often used to running and receiving passes he is both fast and has good hand eye coordination. The many games of backyard basketball he has played with his brothers have also helped with his agility and hand eye coordination as well. Lastly, as you might expect from someone with Aaron’s full schedule he is no stranger to physical exhaustion or running on little sleep, which could give him an edge later on in the game when such factors start to become a problem for many students. Disadvantages: As has been mentioned above Aaron has proven problems working under pressure. Granted these apply more to his mental state and not his physical state – i.e. he has never performed poorly during a match due to pressure before – it could still affect his performance in the game if he dwells too long on the issue of what his family back home wants him to do. To Aaron the greatest threat in the game could be too much downtime giving him too much time to think about such things. Someone who works as hard as Aaron does may also enter the game already close to reaching his limit and burning out completely; if Aaron has a particularly strenuous game early on he may not make it to Endgame regardless of his physical condition. Lastly, due to his hazing of his teammates and lack of socialising Aaron might find that he does not have as many friends in the game as he would think he does, in fact he could find that he has made a few enemies instead. Original Profile: '''Aaron Chalmers (PV2) '''Designated Number: Male Student No. 21 --- Designated Weapon: Philadelphia Derringer Conclusion: A little gun for a big guy. At least nobody will think you're compensating. Get out there and make me... er, America proud. Yeah. America will be super proud if you kill all your friends. Definitely. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. The above biography is as written by Fenrir. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made. Evaluations Handled By: Fenrir Kills: 'None '''Killed By: 'Everett Taylor 'Collected Weapons: '''Philadelphia Derringer (designated weapon, Sebastien Bellamy) '''Allies: 'Sebastien Bellamy, Kitty Gittschall 'Enemies: 'Michael Crowe, Everett Taylor '''Mid-game Evaluation: '''Aaron woke in the burnt out area; he had maybe a few minutes to get his bearings and think to himself before his hand was forced by a loud noise nearby, created by the wandering of Kitty Gittschall. He went deeper into the building and found Kitty and Sebastien Bellamy awkwardly lying around, somewhat literally. He didn't recognize either of them so well but tried to sustain a conversation, one that he quickly turned to the practical matter of finding shelter while the other two verbally meandered more effectively. He took effective charge while Sebastien and Kitty offered feedback and awkward interludes, though he was prescient enough to accurately call Kitty's claustrophobia issue despite her own denial. The three of them agreed that they wanted to find a safer location than the ruin in which to gather allies, and once this was settled upon, Aaron took the lead in heading off. They traveled to the warehouse, and were disturbed to find the signs of a recent struggle, including blood upon the ground. Sebastien called attention to the noise of people outside, namely the trio of Michael Crowe, Everett Taylor, and Scarlett McAfee. Aaron and Sebastien were wary and Kitty fearful; though his initial idea to hide was shot down, Aaron was evasive when he called out to the visitors outside and claimed to be the only person in the warehouse as he tried to figure out their intentions. Sebastien and Kitty moved to find an exit, making more noise as they did so, and Michael suspiciously called Aaron out on lying. Things grew increasingly tense until Michael barged in, causing Aaron to throw a folding chair at him and knock him down. Aaron drew his unloaded gun as Scarlett and Everett followed, intending to threaten them off without having to do serious harm to anyone. However, Everett himself was armed with a gun and his was loaded; seeing Aaron's drawn weapon, Everett assumed the worst and shot him in defense of Michael and Scarlett, hitting him in the chest. Aaron collapsed and quickly bled out from the wound, feeling only confusion and exhaustion in his last moments. '''Post-Game Evaluation: '''Tsk... turns out that a big meathead makes a big target, even if he's holding a gun too. Should have stuck with your strengths and gone with brawn over brains. '''Memorable Quotes: ''"It's just... Aaron. The second 'A' is silent."'' -- A-a-ron to Sebastien and Kitty. "Fuck off Michael. I told you, you're friends aren't here. You said you were going to leave so leave. Leave!" Other/Trivia Threads Below is a list of threads that contain Aaron, in chronological order. Memories of the Past: Second Chances V2: *Rebuild *Say it with Firecrackers! Your Thoughts Whether you were a fellow handler in Second Chances or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Aaron Chalmers. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here! Category:Characters Category:Second Chances Characters Category:Second Chances